Skubal dazzles, Meadows comes up clutch with HR robbery in win?

SEATTLE -- Tarik Skubal was back in his element. Parker Meadows was the right guy at the right time.

Skubal, the front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award, pitched seven sterling innings in a return to the city where he played his college ball, helping the Tigers win, 6-2, over the Mariners on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Park.

But the left-hander was able to pick up the win thanks to center fielder Meadows, who robbed Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh of a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning by jumping high above the wall to haul in the third out for reliever Jason Foley.

For Meadows, it was a redemption moment after he mistakenly allowed an easy flyout to drop for a hit in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s victory.

With Detroit leading, 3-2, in the eighth, Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena hit a two-out double to right, and Raleigh unloaded on a 103.7 mph fly ball off Foley that went 396 feet and high into the marine layer.

Unfortunately for Raleigh and the Mariners, Meadows, all 6-foot-5 of him, was in the way. He tracked the ball, timed his leap perfectly and snagged it at the highest point, way above the wall. Meadows immediately pumped his fist and shouted, “Let’s go,” as he began his triumphant jog back to the dugout.

“I knew he hit it hard and I knew he hit it high, so my job was to just get to the wall and try to beat it to a spot, look up and find it,” Meadows said. “Fortunately, I was able to make a play on it. In that situation, it’s pretty cool.

“You saw the emotions. I don’t do that very often. Especially in that situation, to be able to keep that momentum going into the ninth, it felt good.”

But for the Mariners, it was devastating.

“I think everybody in the ballpark was as surprised as I was that the ball was caught,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “Because if the ball goes over the fence, you're in great shape. [Mariners closer Andres Mu?oz] probably comes in the game, and we end up winning it. But it happens."

Skubal, who was in the weight room when he saw the play, said he didn’t feel nervous once he saw Meadows getting near the ball.

“It’s good to have that gazelle out there,” Skubal said. “He’s pretty special in center field.”

And Skubal is special on the mound. The southpaw was overpowering at times and resilient when needed to earn his 13th victory of the season.

Skubal was happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest, where he starred from 2015-18 as a member of the Seattle University Redhawks. He said around 20 of his former teammates and friends from the area were watching as he went seven innings and gave up two runs on three hits while striking out nine and walking two.

He looked as good as ever in the first three innings, pitching perfect baseball while striking out four batters and not getting to a single three-ball count. Meanwhile, the Tigers did enough damage against the Mariners’ Cy contender, George Kirby, to give their ace a cushion.

Wenceel Pérez led off the game with a home run. The Tigers scratched out a run in the third when Matt Vierling singled and Bligh Madris doubled into the right-field corner. Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger bobbled the ball, allowing Vierling to score Detroit’s second run. They scored again in the fourth inning when Jake Rogers took Kirby deep to left-center field for a solo shot that made it 3-0.

Seattle got to Skubal in the bottom of the fourth when Arozarena broke up the perfect game with a sharp infield single and Raleigh followed with a 427-foot homer to left, but Skubal buckled down after that. He kept the Mariners otherwise scoreless through the seventh.

“Nobody really panics when he’s pitching,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "You feel like he’s in control of the game. He had plenty left in his tank.”

Skubal also contributed on the defensive end. After walking two batters in the sixth, he induced a weak two-out grounder off Polanco's bat, but Skubal pounced off the mound, spun, and fired a one-motion dart to first baseman Madris to end the threat.

“Obviously, you walk two guys in the sixth and then put yourself in a bad spot, and then you’ve got to make a play to get out of it,” Skubal said before adding, with a smile: “I thought it was a pretty good play, too, so I was proud of myself.”

The Tigers added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Vierling and a two-run single by Gio Urshela to take their second consecutive game from the AL West contenders. Overall, they scratched out 13 hits.

“Our whole offensive approach tonight was really good against a really good pitcher,” Hinch said. “We were disciplined and we stayed on the attack.”